In 2012, Aaron Murray became the first quarterback in Southeastern Conference history to throw for at least 3,000 yards in three consecutive seasons. His 2013 reward? He's the third-team quarterback on the media's preseason All-SEC team.

That's how stacked the league is at quarterback this season.

"Usually when you think of the SEC, you think of a great running game and great defense," Murray said at SEC Media Days. "Rarely do you think of great quarterbacks, but we're pretty loaded right now."

Never mind that Murray threw for 3,893 yards and a school-record 36 touchdowns last season. The first-team pick -- Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel -- became the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy. The second-team pick -- AJ McCarron -- led Alabama to a second consecutive national championship.

"The depth of quarterbacks in this league, to be honest with you, it could turn the tide to more of an offensive league than a defensive league this season," Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen said.

The SEC has had quality quarterbacks in recent years. Since 2007, three SEC quarterbacks have won Heismans: Florida's Tim Tebow in 2007, Auburn's Cam Newton in 2010 and Manziel in 2012. That's as many Heismans as SEC quarterbacks won in the previous 71 years: Florida's Steve Spurrier in 1966, Auburn's Pat Sullivan in 1971 and Florida's Danny Wuerffel in 1996.

Since 1998, six SEC quarterbacks have been the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft: Tennessee's Peyton Manning in 1998, Kentucky's Tim Couch in 1999, Ole Miss's Eli Manning in 2004, LSU's JaMarcus Russell in 2007, Georgia's Matthew Stafford in 2009 and Newton in 2011.

But quantity hasn't matched quality ... until now.

Welcome to the Year of the Quarterback in the SEC.

Manziel, McCarron and Murray are considered preseason Heisman contenders. The SEC has not had two quarterbacks finish in the top five of Heisman voting since 1972 (LSU quarterback Bert Jones was fourth and Alabama QB Terry Davis finished fifth). The only other time that happened was in 1947 (Ole Miss QB Charlie Conerly tied for third and Alabama QB Harry Gilmer finished fifth).

The last time two SEC quarterbacks were drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft was 1952, when Vanderbilt's Billy Wade was the first pick (Los Angeles Rams) and Kentucky's Babe Parilli was the 10th pick (Green Bay Packers).

How good is the quality and quantity of SEC quarterbacks this season?

"It's as good as it's been in at least a decade," ESPN analyst Tom Luginbill said. "As a group, top to bottom, it's similar to that group out of the Big 12 a few years ago."

How many SEC quarterbacks this season could eventually be first-round NFL Draft choices?

"Two to three, potentially," said Luginbill, who is high on Florida junior Jeff Driskel. "Maybe closer to two. The height factor for Aaron Murray will be interesting. In two years' time, if Driskel progresses the way he's capable of, he has first-round talent. I'm not so sure AJ McCarron isn't going to work his way in there. Johnny Manziel is a different dynamic. How do you protect him? He's 6 feet tall."

The top 2013 SEC quarterbacks break down into two tiers. Here is a closer look. ...

TOP TIER

Johnny Manziel

1. Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M

Vitals: 6-1, 200 pounds, third-year sophomore.

Accomplishments: First freshman to win Heisman Trophy. ... Broke Cam Newton's SEC record for total offense and became first SEC player to surpass 5,000 yards with 5,116 yards, an NCAA freshman record (3,706 yards passing and 26 TD passes, 1,410 yards rushing and 21 TDS).

Luginbill says: "Statistically, there might be a bit of a dropoff, because the rest of the league's had an offseason to hone in on those guys. ... A lot of people are questioning how he's handled the last seven or eight months, with everybody telling him how great he is. There's a difference between understanding how to handle success and hype and maintain the focus that he needs. ... They want to protect him a little bit. They want him to become a little more disciplined in the passing game in terms of working through progressions. ... You don't want to take away his riverboat gambling, instinctive talent that makes him who he is, but you also want a more complete player who isn't as exposed to as much danger.... He's a good runner that can throw, but that's not to say he's a poor passer in any way, shape or form. ... If Johnny Manziel had to win with his arm, I think he could."

AJ McCarron

2. AJ McCarron, Alabama

Vitals: 6-4, 214, fifth-year senior.

Accomplishments: First quarterback to lead his team to consecutive national championships in the BCS era. ... Led nation in passing efficiency (175.28). Threw for a school-record 30 touchdowns and had only three passes intercepted. Threw for 2,933 yards in 2012. Holds school career record with 49 TD passes.

Luginbill says: "For my money, if there was a guy I'd have to take right now, I would probably take AJ McCarron. I'd take him because of the maturity, the wins, the performances in big games, which is a real issue with Aaron Murray. When it comes down to it, there's some intangible traits that McCarron has that put him at or near the top. ... His tools are underrated. He's got some tools that are reminiscent of (Atlanta Falcons star) Matt Ryan. Similar stature, similar measurables. He's got better arm talent than he gets credit for. He's extremely accurate, especially in the intermediate and vertical passing game, which is important. His tools get overshadowed by the wins, and that's not all bad."

Aaron Murray

3. Aaron Murray, Georgia

Vitals: 6-1, 210, senior.

Accomplishments: With 10,091 career passing yards, needs only 1,428 yards passing this season to break the SEC career of 11,528 set by Georgia's David Greene (2001-04). ... His 3,893 yards passing in 2012 rank third for a single season in the SEC, behind Kentucky's Tim Couch (4,275 in 1998) and Florida's Rex Grossman (3,896 in 2001). ... With 20 TD passes this season, he would break the SEC career record of 114 set by Florida's Danny Wuerffel (1993-96).

Luginbill says: "He's incredibly gifted. He's one of the most competitive, mentally tough players that we have in college football right now. But for whatever reason, he has not played well against good teams on their schedule. He's beaten one top-20 team, and that was Florida last year. He did not play well, and Florida turned the ball over six times. ... He's going to throw for 3,800 or 4,000 yards. He'll have 35 or 36 touchdowns, but look beyond his statistics and look at how he does in the big games. ... He's going to be a bit of an enigma to NFL scouts, because he's 6 feet tall. He's got a live arm, but he's going to be heavily scrutinized on tape against the Floridas and Alabamas and South Carolinas. They're going to say, 'OK, what's missing here?'"

SECOND TIER

Jeff Driskel

4. Jeff Driskel, Florida

Vitals: 6-4, 236, junior.

Accomplishments: As a first-year starter last season, threw for 1,794 yards and 12 TDs. ... Led the Gators to an 11-1 regular-season and a Sugar Bowl berth. ... Against Vanderbilt, rushed for 177 yards, a Florida single-game record for a Florida QB.

Luginbill says: "People have undervalued how physically gifted he is in contrast to what they ask him to do within the offense. He's been a little unfairly judged, because he's not in a wide-open scheme. He's not throwing 35 times a game, like some other guys. He also was unfairly judged last year. This is a guy who was a true sophomore. He basically had played in half of a game as a true freshman. People acted like he was more experienced than he was. He's going to have a big year. You're going to see major strides. On physical tools alone - athleticism, measurables, arm talent - there's nobody better in the conference. Now let's see if he can take the next step. I think they're going to open up the offense and put more on him. ... He's a really dynamic athlete. He's a physical athlete, a hard guy to bring down."

Connor Shaw

Dylan Thompson

5. Connor Shaw and Dylan Thompson, South Carolina

Shaw vitals: 6-1, 209, senior.

Thompson vitals: 6-3, 218, junior.

Shaw accomplishments: Threw for 1,956 yards and 17 TDs and ran for 435 yards and three TDs last season. ... 17-3 record as a starter. ... One of only two South Carolina players to throw for more than 3,000 yards and run for more than 1,000 yards in a career. ... South Carolina's all-time leader in career completion percentage (.668).

Luginbill says: "They can win for anybody in the league. ... Those guys are really sound football players. Connor Shaw is a good athlete who can play with more discipline in the pocket than Johnny Manziel right now. He's learned to work through the progressions. They can change the tempo with Dylan Thompson. You know he's going to stay in the pocket. He's really accurate. He's a really good rhythm and timing passer, very similar to AJ McCarron. The ball comes out quickly. It's a nice contrast that's difficult to defend."

Zach Mettenberger

6. Zach Mettenberger, LSU

Vitals: 6-5, 230, senior.

Accomplishments: Threw for 2,609 yards in his first year as a starter but only 12 TDs. He had only seven passes intercepted in 352 attempts, giving him the best ratio of passes to interceptions (50:1) in school history for QBs with at least 200 attempts.

Luginbill says: "He's a very physically gifted guy that has never demonstrated yet - yet - that he has those intangible traits, a competitive edge that you've got to have at the position. He came on a little at the end of last year. (New offensive coordinator) Cam Cameron's influence will improve him. Sheer experience will improve him. He's not the athlete that Jeff Driskel is, but they have similar arm talent. ... He had moments last year where he would just miss easy throws."

Tyler Russell

7. Tyler Russell, Mississippi State

Vitals: 6-4, 220, senior.

Accomplishments: Set school single-season passing records in 2012 with 2,997 yards and 24 TDs. Had 10 passes intercepted. ... Comes into 2013 season with 37 career TD passes, one away from school record. ... Led Bulldogs to a 7-0 start last season. They finished 8-5.

Luginbill says: "He has a chance, with some experience under his belt, to maybe make that leap into being a really solid, good contributor that could be a potential draft choice or free-agent guy. He's got to play better against their better opponents."

Bo Wallace

8. Bo Wallace, Ole Miss

Vitals: 6-4, 204, junior.

Accomplishments: Despite shoulder injury, threw for 2,994 yards (third in school history) and 22 TDs (fourth in school history). Ran for 390 yards and eight TDs (most by a Rebel QB since Archie Manning). ... His 3,384 total yards were second most in school history. ... Had 17 passes intercepted and lost four fumbles.

Luginbill says: "How his surgery and his shoulder turn out will dictate just how much he progresses. He's really got to cut the turnovers down to single digits."

James Franklin

9. James Franklin, Missouri

Vitals: 6-2, 230, senior.

Accomplishments: Started only eight 2012 games because of injuries and threw for 1,562 yards (10 TDs, 7 interceptions) and ran for 122 yards and no TDs. ... When healthy in 2011, he threw for 2,965 yards (21 TDs, 11 interceptions) and ran for 981 yards and 15 TDs.

Luginbill says: "As an athlete, he belongs in the conversation. I have questions about his mental toughness. I have questions about his ability to play with pain and know the difference between being hurt and injured. That hurt the football team last year."